- “Quitting my job at the company where he worked and realizing I can do much so more with my hobbies” – Berenice, 36
- “Buying myself a car for the first time, driving across the country, handling all the expenses myself. It felt liberating” – Mary, 30
- “Driving home to my father’s, going bar hopping with him, smoking a spliff together in the bay at dawn. Reminded me there are better things in life to live for, like quality time with people who get you”. – Alex, 27
- “Finding her on Tinder, texting her, realizing she doesn’t remember me at all.” – Angelo, 29
- “Talking to him 9 months later on Facebook, after he’s removed my block, and realizing he was boring and not as upscale as I thought”. – Aubrey, 24
- “Sleeping with him 2 years after we separated, and him telling me he’s now cheated on his girlfriend with me. It made me sick and it made me heal in the same time.” – June, 27
- “Seeing him finally married to my best friend in college, being both fat together, with two kids – I couldn’t believe I even dated him.” – Laura, 26
- “Calling his wife and confessing he molested me”. – Brenda, 23
- “I finally took the leap and signed up for the PHD he never thought I could take” – Donnie, 28
- “Spoke to my priest. His exact words were Ask Mary to bring you the man you deserve, this one has forgotten that you are precious and mighty.” – Gabrielle, 25
- “Realized his artwork was real bad work and stopped defending it”. – Genny, 23
- “Each moment I had thoughts of how wonderful she was, I wrote down in my phone another reason why she was bad for me.” – Ben, 24
- “Flirting with several younger men on holiday with my girlfriends. I realized I was neither too old or unattractive.” – Debra, 39
- “Went to CBT, it was painful but made me understand I am not my ex’s problems.” – Connor, 29
- “Bought a lot of sex toys for myself, finally orgasmed, ha!” – Samantha, 25
- “Moved to Greece, started taking dance classes, won a talent award, I am now making my own dance school. I also met a great guy here.” – Cassandra, 32
- “Focused on all his mistakes and flaws until I couldn’t stand having him occupy my mind anymore. Took me 5 months but I am okay now.” – Bella, 24
- “Banned her everywhere online, took a break from social media myself.” – Harry, 22
- “Spoke to my sister on the phone everyday. She’d call me in the mornings to chin me up. She did this for as long as it took me to start feeling alive again. I am forever grateful for my family”. – Hannah, 27
- “Stopped reading his horoscopes and focused on mine only.” – Alina, 23
- “Seeing her happily married. I knew that was it.” – Gordon, 32
- “I honestly thought I’d never get over my ex wife. Years passed and I met other women but my mind was still with her. I mourned a lot and became very greedy and antisocial. What helped? I don’t know, I think booze, but also maybe my sister and her family. Always stick with your family…” – Jeffrey, 41
- “Covering up my engagement tattoo with a Phoenix bird.” – Melissa, 27
- “Looking after myself, my plans, my career.” – Tom, 30
- “We met 3 years after he moved to a different state, I thought our spark was still there but I was so relieved to see I don’t feel any sexual attraction towards him anymore.” – Cora, 25
- “Meeting my ex at a funeral was symbolic, I actually felt no longer attached to him.” – Jane, 28
- “Turned to fitness, fell in love with my body. Began to forget he used to call me fat.” – Angela, 25
- “Moved to a different city for work and realized how many cool men are around me. I felt young and refreshed.” – Federica, 31
- “Started an online journal. It turned out to become a successful blog.” – Gary, 35
- “Swam, every week, started surfing, met my current husband”. – Andrea, 25
- “Treated myself all the ways he’d never treated me, until self confidence became more present than his hurtful memory.” – Cadine, 32
- “I meditated him out of my system.” – Carla, 35
- “Seriously – a lot of rebound sex and affairs with women I met that summer in Portugal.” – Torsten, 32
- “Writing a book and offering it for free to everyone in my social network.” – Manson, 28
- “Investing in my wardrobe and my skincare. You have to look after yourself.” – Anna, 27
- “Reading Alain de Botton and The School Of Life helped me a lot, still helps me.” – Keith, 29
- “Spending two months at my mom’s. She took care to keep me rested, fed and occupied.” – Keisha, 23
- “I finally realized the love was gone when I bumped into her on the street one night and walked her back to her studio apartment – for the first time in years, I couldn’t feel that desire to ask her to take me in for the night.” – Michael, 35
- “I hugged him and he smelled like newly washed clothes and incense – he smelled like someone else’s home.” – Dana, 24
- “Knowing she’ll go in an airplane and fly to her other lover – it was enough.” – Matt, 26
40 People Confess The One Thing That Finally Helped Them Move On After Heartbreak
By
Ioana Casapu,
About the author
Ioana Cristina Casapu is a book author, photographer and producer living life in transit.